


Warmblood Virus Round 2

by RainbowPixieCat



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Other, Sickfic, Vomiting, emeto, puke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-09-18 00:19:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16984554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowPixieCat/pseuds/RainbowPixieCat
Summary: Karkat catches the warmblood virus that's affecting some of the trolls. Fortunately, Gamzee is there to help his moirail.





	Warmblood Virus Round 2

**Author's Note:**

> I'm uploading this for people who liked the first Warmblood Virus Round 1 fic. If puke is not your thing, please do not read. I don't wanna be flamed XD

Gamzee loped up the path to Karkat’s hive, a modern replica of the one he’d possessed on Alternia, complete with bright red shade sails and lattice windows. It didn’t really fit in with the other hives in the street but then, no hives seemed to match with each other; everyone in this part of town had a different style of hive depending on taste and affordability. There were modern abodes, troll hives and mixtures of both…it made for an interesting street that’s for certain. One good thing about it was that everyone here had their own lawnring, what the humans called a yard, and plenty of space in between the houses. 

“As it motherfucking should be” Gamzee commented quietly to himself, smiling as he looked around. He was a troll who liked his space but he didn’t like it to the point of loneliness, which was why he was currently headed to his best friend’s house to get his hangout on. He and Karkat had been chatting on Trollian that morning and Karkat was waiting for him to join one of his romcom drama marathons. Gamzee didn’t particularly care for the choice in TV series but a chance to hang out with his moirail made it worth pretending to pay attention to all the fictional theatrics. 

He reached out and knocked on the front door. To his surprise, it swung open. That was odd, Karkat must have forgotten to shut it properly. Gamzee knocked again and tried calling out. Maybe Karkat was sleeping in. “Hey best friend, you up and about in there?” Gamzee waited a few minutes and then stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. He decided to go look for his friend. Maybe he was just in the bathroom or something.

He began to wander around Karkat’s hive with long, slow strides, looking into rooms he passed by. He checked upstairs first, because Karkat’s bedroom was up there but not finding him, headed back downstairs and looked around some more until he entered the kitchen. His eyes fell to something on the floor; a figure, face down, surrounded by glittering shards of glass and splashes of bright crimson. It was Karkat, apparently he’d been trying to get a glass of water and passed out instead.

“Holy shit” Gamzee’s chilled out demeanour evaporated as he tensed up, eyes widening at the sight before him. In a heartbeat he crossed the space between them and knelt by Karkat’s side, inspecting the damage. His arm and hand appeared to be cut and there were chips of glass in the wounds. Gamzee leaned in closer, placing a hand on Karkat’s shoulder and softly calling his name as he tried to shake him awake. It was then that he noticed the heat radiating through Karkat’s t-shirt. On top of that, his face appeared pale but flushed and sweaty and he was unconsciously breathing through his mouth. 

Gamzee reached a hand around to feel Karkat’s forehead, pushing sweaty bangs back out of the way, a growing worry making him frown. Yeah, he was definitely running a fever, pretty high too. A feeling of dread settled in the purpleblood’s gut as he thought of what happened to his other friend the night before; that virus going around, affecting all the warmbloods. Was it possible that his crabby friend had caught it too? “Well fuck mother fucking damn it” Gamzee enunciated slowly, cursing under his breath. It was a good thing he was invited over; that gave him an excuse to watch over Karkat without the other noticing and putting up a fuss, even if it did turn out to be just a cold.

A moan pulled him out of his thoughts and he looked down to see the nubby horned troll starting to come around. Karkat’s face looked drawn and pained and when he opened his eyes, confusion showed clearly in the red tinged grey irises. 

Karkat lay there, blinking slowly, waiting for his brain to catch up to his senses. After a minute, he shifted and tried to push himself into an upright position. He yelped at the jab of pain in his right hand and rolled onto his back, sucking air through his teeth while grasping his injured arm. His eyes were unfocused as they drifted to Gamzee.   
“…G-gamzee, is that you?” Karkat asked, squinting up at the tall, blurry shape. 

“Yeah, best friend. Allow this clown to help you out; don’t look too comfortable lying there on the floor. Your clothes are wet too” Gamzee leaned down and picked the smaller troll up out of the puddle of water, blood and glass, sliding one arm behind his shoulders and the other under his legs. He carried him through to the living room as though he weighed nothing and bent down to deposit Karkat carefully on the couch, making sure he wasn’t going to keel over before letting go. His purple tinted eyes met red-tinged-grey and he spoke slowly and clearly as he asked “You got a first aid kit anywhere around here?” 

Karkat’s brow creased with confusion as he took a moment to answer, sounding somewhat distant. “You mean an injury box? Yeah, in the culinaryblock, on top of the thermal hull” He was shaking as he glanced at his bleeding hand then quickly looked away. 

“Right-oh. Be back in a minute brother” Gamzee smiled, nodded and left Karkat to go find the aforementioned box. He was easily able to reach it without standing on a chair, though he did still have to stretch a bit. Although one of the tallest amongst their friends, he still had some growing to do. While he was in the kitchen he also got a bowl of water and a clean cloth. He soon returned and set the box on the couch beside Karkat, opening it and rummaging through before finding a bottle of hand sanitiser and using that on himself. He then cleaned the blood off Karkat’s hand and arm, putting them in the bowl of water and carefully washing them off. Gamzee picked up some tweezers and began picking out the glass shards that had lodged in the cuts. He inspected the cuts closely and once he was satisfied there was no more glass, he put on some antiseptic and bandaged Karkat’s hand and forearm, hiding the cuts from view. 

Setting the bowl, tweezers and disposable dish of glass bits to one side, Gamzee reached back into the box and sifted around before finding what he was searching for. A thermometer, still in its packaging and never used. It had diagrams of an ear on the back and instructions for reading temperature. After a quick perusal, Gamzee tore open the package with his teeth. He un-wrapped the stick from its sealed plastic and then without ceremony, placed the tip of the instrument in Karkat’s ear. 

Karkat throughout everything lay back against the couch, looking groggy and faintly unsettled. He hissed a few times at the sting of the antiseptic but otherwise didn’t protest. When he felt something in his ear however, he tried to move away but felt a hand firmly yet gently holding the side of his face, keeping his head in place. 

“Just gotta take your temperature bro, since you look all hot n’ bothered” Gamzee murmured reassuringly, with a twitch of a smile. After a few seconds, the device beeped and he took it out. Gamzee looked at the numbers in the digital display panel and sighed. “Thirty eight point four degrees Celsius. Yup, you got a fever” he assessed. Just like Tavros. But then, the brownblood’s normal temp was around 92.6F, or 33.6C, much lower than Karkat’s. Still, his friend was definitely sick. 

Karkat, who seemed to be coming to his senses, huffed at that assessment, “Oh great, just what I needed, as if I don’t fuck up enough. Let’s give me a fever so we can all stand by and watch me lumber around like a drunken raging cholerbear. Let’s ruin Karkat’s day off then watch as he tries to get to work the next morning and spreads plague to all the customers…it will be the most hilarious act of disgusting tryhardery you have ever seen. You know what, screw it, I’m too tired for this nubsucking hoofbeastshit” He sighed and leaned back, closing his red rimmed eyes. “Tell these germs to go infest someone else, I’m gonna call in sick tomorrow” 

Gamzee patted his knee in a comforting gesture, ignoring the profanities that spilled from Karkat’s mouth. “That’s right man, get some rest. Take it easy. I’m gonna clear this shit away and when I come back we should chill and watch them flicks of yours what you said you liked”.

“Sure” Karkat mumbled a half-hearted reply, listening to things being packed away and the sounds of footsteps on his mealblock floor. He held up his bandaged hand to inspect Gamzee’s handiwork and felt himself blanch at the sight of blood seeping through the cloth. Blood always made him squeamish, especially when it was his own. Karkat quickly lowered his hand and looked away, feeling woozy. He heard a cupboard being opened then water running and looked up as Gamzee reappeared with a glass of water. 

“Here, since the other one got spilled” Gamzee held out the glass to Karkat, waiting until he had a proper hold of it before letting go. The clown just smiled placidly, standing around waiting for him to drink up. 

“Thanks” Karkat grunted, taking the glass somewhat awkwardly with his uninjured left hand and gulping down the contents. With a shaky exhale, he put the empty glass on the side table next to the reclining platform. He looked back at Gamzee then away, glaring at the wall as though he wanted to bore a hole in it. His cheeks flushed darkly as he spoke. 

“Sorry about, you know” He gestured towards the mealblock, where Gamzee had found him. “And thanks for this” he held up his bandaged hand with a scowl. “You also have my sincere apologies for me screwing up our paledate like a pathetic wiggler. Past me probably picked up some pusclumping cold, so we can thank him for that. I understand if you want to go. Wouldn’t want to give you my germs” Karkat said, looking at his friend again and fanning himself with his uninjured hand, he was feeling really hot. 

Gamzee just kept on smiling as he waved a hand in dismissal. He walked over and switched on the ceiling fan, in hopes the cool air would help Karkat’s feverish condition. “Nah, don’t worry about it bro, it weren’t nothing. And I’ll stay and hang with you a bit. Got nothing better to do. Our date’s still on while our eyes and ears are mother fucking functioning. So don’t stress none, it’s all good” Gamzee reassured him. That’s all they needed to watch stuff, right? Eyes and ears. They had both of those, last he checked. “But first, I’m gonna clean up that smash in the kitchen” he motioned towards the room with his thumb “All them sparkly bits are wicked sharp, and I think blood stains if you leave it too long”

“Fine, whatever” Karkat winced slightly at the mention of blood, but nodded at Gamzee, giving him the go-ahead to clean the kitchen floor. He didn’t feel up to doing it at the moment, or anytime soon to be honest. He closed his eyes and rested, listening to the tinkle of glass being swept up, then the sounds of his handheld dust sucker getting those tiny slivers that you couldn’t see until they stabbed you in the foot. He kind of tuned out after that, something about the white noise of the vacuum was mildly soothing. After a while the sound abruptly stopped and the next thing he heard was the opening theme to the TV series he’d picked out. He opened his eyes to see Gamzee flop down into the reclining platform across the room with the remote to the DVD player. 

“Figured I may as well sit over here, so’s none of them germs jump ship and infect me. See, you don’t have to worry ‘bout nothing” Gamzee grinned, leaning back, getting comfy and pushing the play button. “Besides, it really sucks being all on your own when you’re sick. Figured you might want some company” he shrugged. He would know. He’d grown up mostly alone thanks to his unreliable lusus, and those times he’d had to ride out illnesses in miserable silence were some of his least liked memories. He wasn’t going to leave a brother on his own to deal with this. Not unless Karkat said he wanted him gone. 

Karkat returned Gamzee’s grin with a wan smile of his own, unsure whether the heat in his face was entirely fever, “Thanks” he said gruffly. “You didn’t have to. So yeah” He settled down to watch the episode, his spirits lifted. Sure Gamzee could be annoying sometimes but he was also a good friend, once you gave him the chance. 

After the first few episodes, Gamzee was confused. He’d been trying to keep up with Karkat explaining details or adding in comments but heck, there were all these trolls on old Alternia, wearing funny clothes, talking in snobby tones and getting their quadrants mixed up. He wasn’t sure who was cheating on who, or why such and such was upset over that guy when it seemed she liked this guy or how in the heck the hemospectrum worked between pairings. Still, he kept watching and tried to understand for Karkat’s sake. The shorter troll could get awfully crabby when Gamzee lost the plot. He heard a sad sigh and looked over at his friend. 

Karkat was hugging a couch cushion and sniffling a little bit, possibly from a runny nose. “Geez, you feel for him, don’t you? I mean, hiding his blood colour, pretending to be a noble and it’s all for her” He sighed again, enchanted. “Now that’s true romance. Self-sacrificing for the sake of the ones you love. And yet she goes for the douchebag guy with the money” he rolled his eyes, “Come on” 

Gamzee scratched the back of his head and chuckled softly, trying to put together what Karkat was saying with what they’d just watched. “Yeah, uh, that’s some fuckin bitchtits romance right there. Wanna watch another ep?” 

“You’re kidding right? Skip the intro, we have to see what happens” Karkat waved a hand impatiently. 

“Sure thing bro” Gamzee complied with another low chuckle. His friend sure loved these kinds of shows. 

Karkat went back to watching TV, trying to focus on the show, although he was still feeling somewhat nauseous. He blamed it on having passed out then seeing blood straight afterwards and decided not to worry. The drama series was enough to take his mind off of how crappy he was feeling. At least it was until about halfway through the next episode. His fever was making him unbearably hot and sweaty. He pushed hair out of his eyes in annoyance, panting as he pulled at his clothes in discomfort. Karkat tossed the cushion aside and spread himself out under the fan, lifting his t-shirt so the cool air could blow on his exposed stomach. That seemed to help lots, for a while. The next thing he knew, he’d started shivering uncontrollably. He reached for the cushion again, curling in on himself and trying not to let on how cold he was suddenly feeling. 

Gamzee snuck glances at Karkat while he was preoccupied with the telly, silently making notes of his behaviour and comparing it to Tavros’ symptoms. When he started shivering, Gamzee got even more worried. So far it looked like his suspicion might have been right. Then again, it could just be a fever, they did that sometimes. “You okay bro? Want me to turn the fan off?” he queried innocently.

“No yeah, thanks” Karkat answered distractedly, momentarily tearing his eyes away from events on screen to talk to Gamzee before going right back to it. He got pretty wrapped up in these shows; it was actually kind of cute.

Gamzee turned off the breeze blender and was going to sit back down when Karkat looked up at him again, picking up the empty glass on the side table and holding it out to him.   
“Uh, can you get me another glass of water while you’re up? Sorry it’s just, I don’t want to miss this bit” he pointed at the TV, going back to watching again.

“Sure thing man” Gamzee said affectionately, not minding in the least as he shuffled off into the kitchen. 

Karkat didn’t tell Gamzee that he was actually feeling worse. His head almost felt like it was floating. It was getting hard to focus on the trolls on screen and hear what they were saying amidst a growing nausea that was really difficult to ignore. He pressed the cushion more firmly against his stomach, letting out a groan as a quiet puff of air. For some reason his stomach felt really full and uncomfortable. It churned and let out a growl but Karkat didn’t feel hungry. He hoped he was just dehydrated and the water would make him feel better. 

Gamzee strolled back in with the full glass and handed it to Karkat, once again not relinquishing his hold until the other had a steady grip. Karkat’s hand was shaking more than last time, he noted, and wondered where he kept the blankets. “You want a blanket, or…?” 

Karkat shook his head but quickly stopped, regretting the movement as he was overcome with dizziness. “N-no. I’m fine, it’s just this shitty cold” he mumbled, swaying slightly on the spot. “Probly get hot again inna minute” His stomach gurgled noisily and he cringed. “Ugh. Let’s just watch the next episode, takes my mind off it” 

“Okay, well lemme know if you change your mind, best friend” Gamzee replied, hesitating for a moment before taking a seat, folding his long limbs under himself and getting comfy. 

Karkat lost focus somewhere around three quarters of the way through. He had a headache right behind his eyes and the TV screen seemed suddenly too loud and too bright, overwhelming his senses. He squinted at it stubbornly, forcing himself to pay attention. Karkat shifted on the sofa, dropping the cushion he’d been holding, in favour of wrapping both arms around his belly. Any little movements were making him feel sicker, so he lay back and stayed extremely still, trying to ignore the way the room swirled as he watched the screen through half-lidded eyes. 

“You alright there, brother? You look like them bleached shells what the sea tosses up near my hive” Gamzee prodded gently. He wasn’t really interested in the TV drama after all.

Karkat nodded minutely, wincing inwardly at Gamzee’s choice of wording. “Fine” He was fine. He would be fine. Feeling sick was all mind over matter. All he had to do was wait it out and think positive thoughts. His belly let out a loud gurgle and he swallowed reflexively, trying not to focus on how bad he was feeling. Karkat Vantas was not a weakling; he was not going to lose to some stupid cold. “Just, can you turn it down a bit? My head hurts” 

Gamzee complied and they went back to watching the romcom in relative silence. Karkat had long since stopped giving bits of info or commentary, so Gamzee kept trying to work it out on his own. 

Sometime through the next episode, Karkat felt a weight spreading from his stomach to his limbs, and a tingling, almost numb feeling crept up the back of his neck. His face grew hot and a wave of dizziness washed over him. He groaned as quietly as possible and swallowed a mouthful of drool, feeling incredibly sick and achy. He choked back a small gag, then another, making a soft grunt of discomfort as he fought against his body’s reaction with everything he had. The gagging didn’t stop however, and Karkat developed a case of silent hiccups, swallowing furiously when he felt hot liquid creeping up his throat. He continued to breathe and will himself better and eventually, the hiccups subsided. There was a flourish of relief. Yes, he had won. He beat back the nausea. See? Mind over matter. Mind fucking wins. 

A powerful gag caught him off guard. Before he could react, red tinted vomit spewed out of his mouth, splashing down his front and onto his lap. Oh shit, oh shit! ohshitohshitohshitohshit!! His eyes widened in shock and he slapped his hand over his mouth as his stomach heaved again. Puke gushed out past his hand and streamed down his arm, landing all over him. He coughed, took a breath and retched again, lumpy liquid spilling onto his front and the couch with a juicy splatter. 

Gamzee had been sneaking glances at Karkat every now and then. He flinched and went to scramble up when Karkat did a small jerking movement but then realised it was just hiccups. Phew, false alarm. He leaned on an elbow and turned back to the episode, actually curious to see what was happening between the brown blood and the purple blood on screen. Maybe he was starting to get into this thing. 

Gamzee jolted at a splattering noise and looked around, his eyes widening in alarm when he saw what was happening. Karkat was covered in bright reddish vomit and still going apparently, pinkish red tears trickling down his face. 

“Mother fuck!” Gamzee swore. He was at his friend’s side in an instant, scrambling out of the chair and sitting on the couch next to Karkat, rubbing his back soothingly and holding his hair back. “Aw, bro, it’s all right, shh, it’s gonna be okay…I got ya. That’s it, just let it out. Don’t fight it” He didn’t try to get a container of any sort, since Karkat was a mess already, just tried to hold him steady and murmured pacifying words. Nothing could really be done but wait for it to finish. 

Karkat felt deliciously cool hands helping him as he coughed and heaved repeatedly for several minutes. His stomach gave one final effort and then finally stopped its spasms, leaving him with a stinging nose. Strands of puke and saliva were dripping from his nose and mouth. His clothes were utterly soaked with warm, sticky fluids and some of it had splashed on the couch between his legs and beside him. Karkat let out a miserable groan, leaning hard against Gamzee as he tried to recover from the unpleasant episode. He was still shaking all over, hot and dizzy and now somewhat out of breath. “Fuuuuck” was all he could manage to say. 

When it looked like Karkat had finished, Gamzee gently leaned him back against the couch, “Okay brother, stay right there. Don’t try and move, I’m gonna getcha all cleaned up” he soothed, papping the side of Karkat’s face. “Just sit there all nice and still like. Like a rock carving what sits in people’s gardens”

Karkat cringed “It went up my nose” he whined, sounding equal parts disgusted and pathetic.

Gamzee cringed in sympathy. “Kay, just hold on, I’ll get something for that too” Gamzee patted Karkat’s shoulder as he carefully eased himself off the couch and went in search of a washcloth. He came back a minute or so later and began wiping up Karkat’s face, also handing him some tissues.

Karkat took the tissues and immediately cleared his nose, while Gamzee wiped the cloth over his arms, neck, face and wherever else his skin got touched by the mess. Gamzee tossed the washcloth into a bin he’d found in one of the bathrooms and took the tissues from Karkat, tossing them in it as well. He then tentatively slid his fingers to the hem of Karkat’s tee shirt and started rolling it up off him, careful not to let the mess touch him or Karkat as he instructed “Arms up” 

Karkat sighed at the coolness of the damp cloth on his fevered skin, almost sorry when Gamzee stopped using it. He lifted his shaking arms and managed to hold them up just long enough for Gamzee to work the tee off over his head, thankful that he somehow managed to do it so no puke got on his hair or face.

Gamzee tossed the ruined tee into the dross coffer and reached for Karkat’s pants. 

Karkat’s hand shot out and he grabbed Gamzee’s wrist, a panicked look flickering across his face.

Gamzee smiled at him kindly, “It’s okay, I aint gonna look or nothing. We gotta get you outta these clothes so’s we can toss 'em in the wash. And toss you in the shower” 

Karkat stared back with fever bright eyes then relented, removing his hand. “F-fine. But stop saying toss.”

“Good boy” Gamzee reached to pull at the tie that held his pants up, which was now wet and slimy. It felt pretty disgusting. Once he had that undone, he tugged at the waistband of the grey track pants but wasn’t able to get them all the way down. “Can you stand up for me?” he asked Karkat gently, looping an arm under his shoulder and helping pull him to his feet. 

“Yeah, think so” Karkat managed to stand even though his legs were shaking badly. He leaned heavily against Gamzee as his pants were removed, along with his underwear. He tried to help with getting his pants off but mostly failed. Everything was soaked through and smelled terrible. His free arm was wrapped around his belly which was bloated and still feeling uncomfortable.

Gamzee chucked the pants and underwear in the bin with the other stuff and started to put an arm under Karkat’s legs to lift him up. 

Karkat frowned and pulled away, nearly falling over in his efforts. “I can get to the ablutionblock by myself” he protested stubbornly. He started to walk away from Gamzee and swayed alarmingly as he did so. 

“Whoa!” Gamzee stepped to Karkat’s side and helped support him as the warmblood troll tottered on his feet. “Alright, fine you can walk there, bro. Just lean on me a bit, yeah? I don’t want you falling over and cracking open your skull on something” 

“M’not a wiggler, Gamzee. I can walk around my own hive” Karkat grumbled but acquiesced, leaning on his palemate as they made their way to the ablution chamber.

Gamzee lowered Karkat down to sit on the toilet lid and started the shower, testing the temperature on his wrist before assisting Karkat into the stall. He carefully lowered him till he was sitting on the tiled floor, then grabbed the detachable shower hose and began washing Karkat with some mild soap, not minding all that much that he was getting a bit wet from the spray. Once he was sure Karkat was reasonably clean and no longer smelled like vomit, he shut off the water and reached for a soft grey towel that was hanging over a nearby rack, wrapping Karkat up in it. “There ya go, all squeaky clean, squeakier than a motherfucking squeakbeast” He smiled and supported Karkat into his respite block and over to the bed. 

Karkat sat down heavily on the edge of the sleeping platform, hugging the towel around him while Gamzee dug through his drawers and closet looking for stuff. Ordinarily he’d hate someone going through his things but his insides were hurting enough that he knew he’d find it hard to do on his own. 

The taller troll loped back over with an assortment of clothes and knelt down in front of Karkat, grabbing the shorter troll’s foot and putting it through one of the leg holes in a pair of boxers. “One foot in, good, now the next one” he instructed. 

Karkat hopped off the bed shakily and helped pull the underwear up his legs; a black pair of boxers printed with silver diamonds. He looked up to complain at his helper.   
“I’m not a helpless grub, damn it, I am a fully competent mff-mm!” His protests were abruptly cut off as his towel was whisked away and a tee shirt went over his head, muffling his words. He pulled it roughly down to glare at the purple blood who was calmly threading his arm through a shirt sleeve. “Gogdammit you whimsical asshole, I’m not a limp fronded moron, I can dress myself fine. All I did was throw up, my limbs aren’t broken!” And of course the universe had to choose that moment to spin erratically, pitching him forward face first against his pale mate’s chest. 

“Nngh…” Karkat groaned dizzily, his vision blacking out. He felt strong arms scoop him up and then he was being placed against a comfortable flat surface and his head sank into cool pillows. When his vision cleared, he saw Gamzee leaning on the bed next to him, wearing a patient expression as he appeared to be waiting for something. “You were saying?” the clown smiled, a gleam in his eyes. 

“Don’t remember” Karkat huffed, putting a hand on Gamzee’s forehead and pushing his face out of the way. “Shut up” 

Gamzee only laughed and let out a few amused honks. “Honk, honk, honk! Just playin’ with you bro”

Karkat clamped his hands over his ears, “I said shut uuuuup you thinkpan-rotted globe juggler. That fucking hurts!”

Gamzee stopped laughing and looked concerned, ignoring the insults “Your ears hurt? Lemme see that” He gently reached out and held Karkat’s wrists, pulling his hands away from his ears and cupping Karkat’s face in his cool hands as he tilted his head to one side then the other to look into his ears. 

Karkat blinked at him, his eyebrows furrowed in annoyance and pain. “Too effing loud” was all he said. 

Gamzee sat back up after his inspection, confused since Karkat’s ears both looked normal. It seemed he was sensitive to sounds though. “All right, I’ll try and keep it down for you. Sorry best friend” 

He got up and padded into the kitchen, returning with some ice water and another cloth. Karkat’s fever was still in full force and he wanted to help bring it down. He wet the cloth and wiped it over Karkat’s face, neck and arms, then placed the cold cloth on Karkat’s forehead and smiled as this elicited a relieved sounding sigh. “Heh heh, thought that’d feel good” he murmured, chuckling softly at Karkat’s reaction. 

Gamzee casually walked over and switched on the ceiling fan to the medium setting, knowing the cool air on damp skin would be nice. “Want the light on?” he asked questioningly, long fingers drifting to the switch that adjusted the level of light in the room. 

Karkat immediately squinted his eyes shut and covered them with his arm, moaning. “Noooo” 

He was sensitive to light too. Hmm, this wasn’t looking good. “Okay bro. Just call me if you want anything. I’m going back downstairs to get your living room cleaned but I’ll be around, so just yell out”.

Karkat’s reply was a deep, slow breath. He was falling asleep, exhausted no doubt, his pale cheeks flushed with cherry. 

Gamzee tiptoed out of the room, making his way quietly downstairs to go clean up the mess that was left and try to save Karkat’s couch from being permanently stained. While he cleaned, Gamzee was thinking, and his thoughts told him that this was likely the same bug Tavros had caught, based on similarities. Once he had the sofa in a reasonably clean state, he took a seat on the unstained one and pulled out his phone, sending Tavros a few texts. He waited but got no replies so he tried calling but still nothing. He sighed and frowned, worried for his Taurus. Tav usually responded to his texts straight away. He’d go visit and take care of him himself but he knew Rufioh was there and probably looking after him. He wondered if Tavros was feeling better yet, or if he was as bad as Karkat was right now. There was no way he was going to leave Karkat alone to find out though. 

Gamzee scooted further back on the couch, tucking his legs underneath him and tapping at the screen as he typed out a message. After a while his phone honked and he checked the messages. “Aww, shit man” Gamzee cursed softly, reading the text. Rufioh relayed what happened to Tavros in the wee hours of the morning and that his fever had gotten worse. Gamzee frowned unhappily, even more worried about his flush crush than before. He had hoped the Taurus would be able to sleep it off but it seemed worse than he thought. He was even more worried about Karkat too, since if it was the same virus, his friend was in for a rough time. Rufioh asked about Gamzee and he told him he was watching over Karkat since he was also sick. Speaking of which, it had been a couple of hours, he should probably go check on him. 

He pocketed his phone and headed upstairs, to find that Karkat was still sleeping, although fitfully, the blankets and sheets scrunched up and twisted from his constant tossing and turning. The highblood went and got more ice water and gently wiped the cold cloth over Karkat’s hot skin, gliding it over his arms, wiping his sweaty face, lifting his shirt to wipe over his soft belly and let the cool air breathe on it, and eventually placing it on his forehead again. Gamzee had decided to hang around and definitely keep an eye on his troll friend, so he sat in Karkat’s computer chair and played around on his phone, texting people, playing games and surfing the net.

***

Karkat awoke sometime later. He had no idea how long he had slept for but he felt uncomfortably warm and sticky. He was also really thirsty and had a bad taste in his mouth. He slowly sat up and slid out of bed, telling Gamzee he was going to get another drink of water. Gamzee was holding a bowl of ice water and a cloth and looked like he was on his way out. He nodded, telling Karkat he was just going to get more cold water but to call out if he needed him. 

Karkat wobbled his way down the stairs, one hand trailing along the wall to help him keep balance, occasionally pausing to wait out small dizzy spells. It was slow going but eventually, he made it to the landing and walked into the culinary block, heading to the cupboard where the drinking glasses were stored. Karkat shakily grabbed one, and held it under the waterspout, listening to the glass fill up with clear, cool fluid. He leaned back against the counter and slowly brought the glass to his lips, immediately gulping down the refreshing drink. And then something registered. The water, it tasted funny, wrong. The texture was kind of thick as well. Wondering if there had been something in the glass before he filled it, Karkat sputtered and lowered the glass from his mouth to look at it in disgust…and froze in absolute horror. The glass was full of thick, red liquid. Blood. His stomach lurched as he realised what he drank and he dropped the glass with an ear-splitting crash and a burst of dark red. Karkat leaned over the sink and retched. A thick stream of blood poured out of his body, the metallic taste nearly choking him as it made him gag even harder, throwing up more of the vile substance. The sink started to get full, and he turned the water on, watching tendrils of blood swirl down the drain… 

“Fuck!” Karkat awoke with a start from the horrible nightmare. He stared at the ceiling for a while as his brain slowly caught up with reality, trying to recount the events that led to him being in bed, and what time of day it was. He rolled over to look at the alarm clock on the bedside table and his stomach sloshed and gurgled painfully. He let out a low moan and immediately tried to sit up. His stomach was killing him. As he reflexively let a hand drift to it and rubbed it, he could tell it was swollen up like a balloon. He sat there panting and sweating, feeling his entire body shaking from fear, nausea and revulsion. 

“G…Gamzee…I’m gonna…!” Karkat tried to call out but was cut off by a sharp gag that sounded like a burp. He swallowed hard, tried to hold back, but another heave gave him a mouthful of acidic slush that dribbled out onto the mattress. Another particularly strong retch and his insides were spilling out all over the sheets. The bright red colour of the slimy thick liquid reminded him even more of the blood. Karkat spat and coughed, before gurgling up another stream, his bandaged hand clawing at his sore belly, his left hand holding him up. He felt so weak and dizzy this time and he could feel his arm shuddering, ready to give out. Just as he started to fall forwards, about to land in his own mess, strong arms wrapped around him, and something was held in front of his face. The next heave made a wet splattering noise against whatever it was. 

Gamzee ran to grab a bin just in time. He’d accidentally dozed off in the computer chair, only for about ten minutes, and was rudely woken up by Karkat’s panicked and desperate tone calling his name. After tumbling off the chair and picking himself up off the floor, he saw what was happening and knew he was too late to save the bedding, but ran and got the next best thing that would at least cut down on the amount of mess that had to be cleaned. He sat and held his poor troll buddy, rubbing his back and murmuring soothing words as Karkat’s body purged itself of virus slime in a rather forceful manner. 

“Shh, shh, it’s all chill, brother, don’t worry ‘bout it, just stay still, that’s it. Lean on me, good boy, mother fuck that’s a lot of vomit…shhh, it’s okay, you’re okay” 

It really was a lot. Gamzee watched Karkat in astonishment. All this stuff was gushing out his mouth and nose, yet the last thing Gamzee remembered Karkat putting into his body was a glass or two of water and he’d puked both of those up. How could there be this much left inside him? The bin was almost half full and he was still going. He peered over Karkat’s shoulder and was shocked to see how bloated his tummy looked. Sure Karkat had a soft, round belly because he was slightly chubby and adorable, but it was never this distended. An image of Tavros’ belly from the night before came to mind. That’s right; it was all full and angry before he got sick. And now Karkat’s was the same. That confirmed it; this definitely had to be the same thing. He continued to shoosh and soothe Karkat until it was over, holding him close because he seemed like he was going to pass out any second. 

Karkat spat once or twice and finally leaned away from the bin, lying back against Gamzee’s chest with a weary and shuddering sigh. He groaned low in his throat, then whimpered. Something wet was streaming down his face, and he could hear someone sobbing. 

“There, there, don’t cry darlin’ it’s okay” Karkat felt something soft (a tissue?), wiping over his eyes and cheeks, and realised it was him who was crying. He was really upset. 

“Ga…Gamzee…I…I…” Karkat tried to speak but ended up hiccupping and sniffling some more. 

“Shhh, I know…just relax, shooosh shooosh” He felt something pap the side of his face gently and leaned into the blissfully cool hand like it was his saviour. 

“Mmm…that’s nice” The shushing noises were good too. For some reason they had an almost instant calming effect on him. Maybe this was the benefit of having a moirail. 

Gamzee was trying to stay calm and think clearly. He first had to focus on calming Karkat down, because he was way too distraught. He was trying not to drown in a flood of worry for his moirail. He reached for more tissues off the bedside table and gently cleaned Karkat’s face, dropping the used tissues in the half filled rubbish receptacle. Gamzee set the used bin aside and shifted Karkat very carefully, moving to the edge of the bed and standing up with him in his arms. Gamzee being a purple blood meant he was physically stronger than most other trolls, so even with Karkat’s slight chub he had no problems carrying him. 

He padded down the hall and into the bathroom, holding Karkat close. He sat on the closed toilet and shifted so Karkat was sitting on his lap with his back resting against him. Gamzee rolled Karkat’s now messy shirt up over his head and tossed it in the direction of the clothes hamper. He then slid his fingers into the waistband of Karkat’s boxers and with a bit of shifting around, managed to slide them down and off his legs. Both clothes had unfortunately gotten splashed. He took Karkat over to the shower and set him down gently on the floor with his back leaning against the tile wall. Gamzee petted Karkat’s hair back away from his face, “I’ll be right back, just grabbing you some new threads to chuck…” Whoops, bad use of words there. “Er…put on, once we get ya all clean again. Stay right here, kay?”

Karkat nodded slightly and made a sound of assent, which was good enough for Gamzee. He went back to the bedroom and quickly returned with a fresh pair of boxers that had crabs printed on them and another tee, plain black with the usual grey symbols, as well as the towel from before. Gamzee didn’t care about things matching or looking good. He just wanted to dress Karkat in something light and easy to change if it got dirty. He set the clothes on the side of the bath and took the detachable shower off its hook, turning the water on and adjusting it to the right temperature; comfortingly warm but not too hot. He crouched down beside Karkat and began washing him with the soap. It didn’t take long to get Karkat clean and he soon turned off the water and gathered him up in the fluffy, now somewhat damp grey towel. He dried him off and re-dressed him in the clean clothes. The fact that Karkat wasn’t protesting or trying to fight him through any of this sent spikes of alarm through the other troll. But maybe his sick patient just needed more sleep and would wake up feeling better. Speaking of which, his bed was kind of unusable right now. Gamzee carried Karkat downstairs and laid him on the clean couch, the one Karkat hadn’t puked all over. He petted his hair back again and pressed a light kiss to his forehead. “Be back soon, alright. You want me, just yell out” 

Karkat blinked blearily up at his moirail before his eyes fluttered closed and he made a sleepy sound of acknowledgement to Gamzee’s comment. He grabbed onto Gamzee’s hand and hugged it before letting go, already starting to drift into sleep for the second time that day. 

Gamzee went back upstairs and cleaned out the used bin, then stripped the sheets and blanket off Karkat’s double bed, as well as the pillow slips. He dumped them all in the laundry block and looked around for a linen closet, eventually finding one and managing to remake the bed with clean sheets, pillows and another light cover thrown over the top. The cover was a gradation of sky blues with stylised clouds and fireflies on it and he wondered where Karkat had got it from. The only person he could think of was the boy with windy powers and he smiled, glad that Karkat had a friend. Apparently those two had gotten closer since they made it out of the game. 

Gamzee stood back and surveyed his handiwork for a minute. He got an idea. He honked softly as he headed back to the closet and got out a couple of older looking towels, unfolding them and lining the mattress and pillow with them. Should save the clean-up required if Karkat got sick again, because he seemed to erupt without much warning.   
Gamzee padded back downstairs and gathered up the sleeping Karkat, transferring him to the bed with ease and gently tucking him in, so the blankets came up to about waist height. He didn’t want him to overheat after all. 

Karkat stirred slightly when he felt someone picking him up but turned and snuggled into them, only half conscious while being carried. He rolled onto his side once he was placed into bed and curled up, one arm wrapped over his still achy tummy as he sank back into sleep surrounded by nice, clean bedding. 

He blinked awake some hours later, feeling hot and sticky. His mouth felt dry. Again, there was the unpleasant taste, reminding him of his illness. “Thirsty” Karkat mumbled, to no one in particular. 

Gamzee, again keeping vigil on Karkat’s computer desk chair, got up the moment he started stirring and felt his forehead. He was still burning up, so the purple blood made a quick trip downstairs and came back with a big glass of water. He’d meant to try to get Karkat to drink something before falling asleep but once he’d drifted off he hadn’t wanted to wake him. He gently placed a hand on Karkat’s arm. “Hey best bro, you awake?” 

Karkat rolled onto his back and nodded, holding out his arms for Gamzee to help him up. He felt too tired to talk. 

Gamzee chuckled and set the glass of water down, helping Karkat sit up and picking it up again. He sat next to him, one arm gently holding him against his side as he brought the glass of water to his lips. “Here, I want you to try and drink, get this down cause you’ve been sweating like you’re under the Alternian sun and we don’t want you to shrivel up now” Gamzee teased lightly, tipping the glass up a bit. To his relief, Karkat didn’t argue. He opened his mouth and started drinking the water, taking small, hesitant sips.

“Good, that’s it, nice and slow like. Drink as much as you can” Gamzee encouraged, watching the water disappear. A little leaked out the side of Karkat’s mouth and dripped down his chin but most of it was going down. When the glass was empty, Gamzee set it on the bedside table, feeling proud of Karkat’s efforts. “Good job, bro. How’re ya feeling?” he asked gently, petting Karkat’s head. 

Karkat made a face of discomfort “Full…kinda s-sick” he managed to get out, his uninjured hand rubbing small circles on his too tight belly. It let out a disgruntled gurgle at the water that was trying to settle. 

“Alright then, come here” Gamzee pulled over the pillows on the side of the double bed not being used and lay back, pulling Karkat in close so he was lying with his back to his chest. He gently moved Karkat’s hand out of the way and placed his own hands up under the tee shirt and on either side of Karkat’s belly, beginning to massage it gently and starting up a low purr. It rumbled deep and soothing in his chest, travelling through to Karkat’s back. “This helping any, palest of bros?”

Karkat let out a soft sound, a sigh mixed with a whine, “Yeah, keep doing that” he mumbled sleepily. “It’s helping”

“Sure thing brother” Gamzee kept rubbing soothing patterns into his friend’s sore tummy. After a while he felt Karkat’s tense muscles start to relax against him as the littler troll began to calm down. His breathing started to even out, and eventually he was so relaxed he was putty in Gamzee’s arms. Gamzee smiled affectionately and moved one of his hands up to Karkat’s horns. He began ever so gently to massage one of them at the base. A thin, weak purr answered his ministrations and he continued, switching to the other horn after a minute, still massaging Karkat’s tummy with his other hand. All that could be heard was the sounds of purring and the soft glide of hand over flesh.   
Gamzee might have let himself get a little too relaxed because somewhere amongst all of that, he fell asleep with his patient. 

***

He heard a small cough and then the bubble of liquid being spilled. Something jerked slightly in his arms. A familiar stench hit his nose and Gamzee blinked instantly awake, wondering what in heck was going on. He looked down at Karkat, who had slumped sideways in his arms and was currently proceeding to empty the red slime contents of his insides all over the towel that covered his pillow. All while apparently being still sound asleep. Gamzee sat up a bit and propped Karkat up a little more, leaning sideways a little so the nubby horned troll could keep puking on the towel. Knowing how distressed he got when he was sick, he didn’t want to wake him and thought he’d spare him the unpleasant experience. It continued for a few minutes and then Karkat seemed to be done. 

As carefully and quietly as he could, Gamzee got up and wiped Karkat’s face off with the clean part of the towel. He extracted the towel from under Karkat’s cheek and went to toss it in the growing pile of laundry. He then returned with a clean, wet cloth and started to wipe Karkat off properly. Luckily this time it was just his face and his arm that got hit. 

Karkat woke up with something licking him. A giant purrbeast that looked like Nepeta’s cat mom had been licking him in his fever dream and now it seemed like maybe it wasn’t a dream. “Nnnhh huh?” Karkat groaned unintelligibly, still sleep addled and feverish. His vision adjusted to the dim light of the room and he saw Gamzee standing beside the bed and gently wiping his palm and between his fingers with a wet cloth. He was going to ask what happened, before a sickening smell invaded his nostrils and he suddenly realised what happened. For reasons unknown, this upset him. He began to tear up and let out a small sob as the cloth wiped the side of his face and neck. He then burst into tears and began to cry in earnest. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, it’s okay, it’s okay…I’m just cleaning you up. Aw, hon, shooooosh…don’t cry” Gamzee tossed the cloth aside, he was finished cleaning anyway, and gathered Karkat into a hug, rubbing his back and kissing the top of his head while he cried and hiccupped red tinted tears into his shirt. He’d never seen him this upset before. 

Karkat was embarrassed, feeling bad for causing so much trouble, feeling weak and pathetic and just having had enough of everything. He couldn’t seem to find the words he wanted to use for the whirlwind of emotions he was going through. His thoughts felt muddy and indistinct, flitted away when he tried to grasp onto them. He was feeling bad in a number of ways. It seemed even if he was too worked up to remember how to express himself through a fever haze, his subconscious recalled well enough and switched back to wiggler instincts whose only method of communication was crying. 

“It’s okay, it is all mother fucking okay, bro, you just cry until you feel better. Ain’t no one gonna judge you here, shoosh now, come on, shhhh” Gamzee just continued to shoosh and comfort his distressed moirail, not caring about the red tears staining his tee with the purple Capricorn sign. He started patting his back, much the way someone would pat a little wiggler when they needed to calm down. 

Karkat’s crying started to diminish and he registered around the same time that there was a laid back, comforting slightly gravelly voice soothing him, and that the person he was leaned against smelled really good, like incense and the ocean breeze. He looked up and took a shaky breath. “G-Gamzee?” 

Gamzee smiled, lightly smoothing damp hair away from Karkat’s flushed and tear streaked face. “Yeah? I’m right here” he said patiently, kindly.

“You…you…you’re so..” Karkat slurred, trying to form the sentence he wanted. His stomach gave a sudden lurch and he felt a wave of nausea roll over him. His face suddenly felt too hot and he felt the tingling heat spreading up his neck. Fuck, not again. Wasn’t there any reprieve from this illness? “Y-you need to move! M’gonna-” Panicking, he pushed himself away from Gamzee so fast that his head spun wildly and his vision blacked out with dark splotches. Karkat distantly heard a retching sound combined with a wet burp and then felt the gush of liquid leap out of his mouth, splattering wetly all over Gamzee’s front. Karkat coughed and retched a few more times and felt strong arms holding him steady so he didn’t fall into his mess. When his vision cleared, he was horrified. Karkat gasped out words, his throat raw. “Oh my gog. I am so, so sorry. I…I hurled all over you…I…I didn’t mean to-oh fuck, oh shit, ohfuckohshit ohfuck,fuckfuckfuckfuck fu-!”

“Shhhh” Gamzee placed a finger to Karkat’s lips, silencing his panicked babbling of swear words. “No need to stress, babe, it was just an accident. You’re sicker than a barkbeast, s’not your fault so don’t be all apologising and getting your freakout on. It’s just a bit of sick, and I’m totally fine. I can handle all what comes my way, whatever you throw at me. Or um, on me” Gamzee reassured him, as Karkat started to tear up again. He didn’t have any fear of catching this thing, so being puked on wasn’t a big deal, apart from being gross, that is. He cleared away Karkat’s tears with his thumbs, not minding the string of saliva and puke still connected between Karkat’s mouth and his tee shirt. 

“Now let’s get you all cleaned up and shit, yeah? I might have to clean myself up too” he chuckled, looking at his clothes. “Hang on a second; don’t wanna drip this stuff all through your hive”. Gamzee took a moment to carefully peel off his now disgusting shirt and chucked it into the bin that he’d left near the bed after cleaning it out. His pants were also a mess so he wriggled out of his purple shoes and then got the pants off and tossed them with the shirt, now left in just a pair of purple boxers. He went and got another wet cloth and wiped off Karkat’s face with it, before wiping himself down where the liquid had soaked through. Gamzee helped Karkat lay back down, moving a towel to replace the one that had been tossed. He went and grabbed himself a clean towel and took a quick shower to get the scent off his skin, getting dressed back into his boxers. He went back into the bedroom to find a feverish and softly crying Karkat who was lying on his side, curled in on himself in pain. 

Gamzee hopped onto the bed with him and lay down behind him, draping an arm over his moirail and rubbing his belly underneath the tee shirt he wore. He started to hum softly and then sing, the words a low murmur, almost a whisper. “Baby don’t worry, about a thing…cause, every little thing’s, gonna be all right” 

Karkat closed his eyes and listened to the song, a faint smile tugging at his lips before he started again to drift off. His exhausted body eventually let him fall asleep after around fifteen minutes. 

Gamzee waited until Karkat’s breathing had changed; softer breaths coming from his slightly open mouth. He heard his palmhusk honk a few times, signalling he was getting texts. He stroked Karkat’s hair back in a comforting gesture, before carefully and slowly removing his hand from Karkat’s belly and rolling onto his back. He reached down for his pocket to get his phone and then realised much to his dismay that his phone was in his pants pocket, and his pants were in the bin soaked in puke. 

“Honk” Gamzee honked quietly and pulled a face but quietly got off the bed and went to retrieve said phone. He cleaned it off with a damp washcloth and then went to wash his hands, going back into Karkat’s room and sitting down in the desk chair. He unlocked the screen with a swipe of his finger and saw a message or two from Kurloz. 

The older troll was apparently at Gamzee’s hive wondering why he wasn’t home when Gamzee had texted him yesterday saying it was fine to visit. Gamzee quickly sent back a reply stating he was at Karkat’s and why, apologising for not being home. He was going to leave it at that but felt a little cool under the fan in just his underwear and had an afterthought. He quickly tapped out another text, telling Kurloz where the spare key to his hive was and asking him if he could pick up some of Gamzee’s clothes and bring them round to Karkat’s, adding that maybe they could hang out a bit too. 

About twenty minutes later, there was a sharp rap at the door. Gamzee silently slid off the bed and moseyed downstairs, opening the door to reveal Kurloz holding an armful of clothes. A bemused smile curled the other troll’s stitch marked lips and he raised a brow at Gamzee’s state of dress before wordlessly handing him the clothes. 

“Thanks brother, would’a been a bit frosty without these”, Gamzee joked. He opened the door wider and stepped to one side, inviting Kurloz in. He took the clothes his invertebrother held out to him, thankful for them, as he was sure Karkat’s smaller clothing really wouldn’t fit him. Gamzee padded into the living room, pulling the hoodie over his head and stepping into the black jeans, already starting to feel warmer as he threaded a purple belt through the jeans loops and buckled it up round his slender waist. 

Kurloz followed behind, like a shadow. He waited till the other troll had finished getting dressed then tossed something to Gamzee and took a seat on the couch that wasn’t damp, sprawling out with his arms resting along the back. 

Gamzee reacted without thinking and caught a chilled bottle of Faygo, Redpop flavour. He grinned at Kurloz and sat down beside him, cracking open the beverage and taking a swig of sugary fizz before asking, “So, how’re things with my bull horned bros? Is Tav doin’ any better?”

Kurloz took a slow sip of his own bottle of Cola Faygo, savouring it in silence before finally swallowing and looking into Gamzee’s eyes, his own eyes lighting up with a purple glow. His voice resonated in Gamzee’s head as he used his chucklevoodoos to communicate. “The younger lowblood does not fare any better than the mutant redblood, judging by what happened to your previous threads”

Gamzee frowned, thinking of his poor flush crush. “Aw shit man. Now you got me wishing I could be in two places at once”. 

Kurloz regarded him calmly, unblinking. “There is no need to fret. The elder Nitram has things well in hand, though I suspect a trip to the medical facility will be their outcome before the sun bleeds into the darkness”

Gamzee shivered at Kurloz’s use of wording and his concern for Tavros ramped up a notch. If Kurloz said they needed to head to the hospital then it must be bad. He took another swig of Faygo to calm himself, gripping the bottle tightly to hide the slight trembling in his hands. He swallowed and asked. “Symptoms?” 

Kurloz’s expression was blank as he relayed the information “High fever, frequent expulsion of gastric sac fluids, delirium, hallucinations, internal pains, inability to take liquid by mouth, confusion, fear, drifting between the waking and dream worlds…the mix of emotions was rich and heady, the elder was saturated with fear and concern. It was almost intoxicating” His eyes flashed brighter as the last word was emphasized, echoing in Gamzee’s mind. 

Gamzee matched up Karkat’s symptoms with what Kurloz was telling him and groaned, placing one hand to his forehead. This didn’t look good. 

Granted, he had been able to get water into Karkat, so there was one small window of hope. He really didn’t want to take his moirail to the hospital knowing how terrified Karkat was of needles, pain, blood and hospitals in general. If at all possible he wanted to spare him from that eventuality. “Mother fuck! What should I do?” 

“Minister unto him for as long as possible and if the condition deteriorates, take him to the medical facility” Kurloz replied tranquilly with a slight shrug. “I can taste your worry for your peers. Why not let us take your mind off it? Worry feeds only the darkness, and does not change what is damned, cursed or afflicted. You know this, my invertebrother” 

Gamzee let out a shaky sigh, running his fingers through his messy spikes of hair. “Yeah, I know. Okay, maybe getting my distraction on would be a good thing. You got any suggestions?”

Kurloz smiled knowingly. “Everybody likes games” 

Gamzee’s gaze alighted on Karkat’s gaming system, he chewed his lip apprehensively. He didn’t really want to use it without asking, though he’d played games on it with Karkat before and knew how it worked. 

Kurloz took another gulp of Faygo, leaning back into the plush couch. “Or you can sit here and worry yourself sick, while the young redblood endures the fitful sleep of the ill. Either way, time will pass”

Gamzee hesitated. He knew Karkat wouldn’t mind if they used his gaming gear, so long as they didn’t damage it. And he had nothing better to do, besides check up on his sleeping moirail from time to time and wipe him over with a cloth soaked in cold water. Maybe take his temperature again. Keep trying to get it down. Keep feeding him water. Keep cleaning him up. Gamzee wasn’t an expert on taking care of people. All he knew was what he usually did for himself the times he got sick. Or what he’d seen on TV or ads.

He jumped when a reassuring hand landed on his shoulder, and looked up to see Kurloz smiling at him. The older troll held out his bottle of half-drunk Faygo expectantly.   
Gamzee hesitated then seemed to relax. He chuckled and raised his bottle to Kurloz’s, bumping them together. “Yeah, sure thing bro. Let’s play a game or two” he conceded. 

***

“Why do we need to know what boob size they are?” Confusion and curiosity could be heard in the younger Makara’s voice. 

“I do not know. Perhaps this is a human mating ritual, asking information about physical body traits” Kurloz’s voice resonated in Gamzee’s mind, making it seem oddly like Gamzee was talking to himself should anyone else overhear the conversation. 

“Yeah…but…then why do all the chicks seem unhappy or get their rage on when I push that option? I don’t get it” 

“Ooh…bitchslapped” A dark chuckle followed the resounding slap that happened on screen.

“Honk, the controls vibrated when she laid one on him! Lemme do that again!”

They had found, apparently, one of Karkat’s dating simulators and were working their way through it, failing spectacularly. Although whether Kurloz was picking the wrong options on purpose or not was hard to tell. He seemed almost too amused when Gamzee made the wrong decisions and got varying results. 

After the tenth rejection, Gamzee felt his thoughts tugging at him to check on Karkat. He decided to give in, finding a save point and getting to his feet. “Just gonna…” He jerked his thumb towards upstairs and Kurloz nodded understandingly, lifting a hand in a signal as if to say “Yeah, fine, go ahead” 

Gamzee took his leave, marching back up the stairs towards Karkat’s room. He could hear the white noise of the fan spinning around and the door was ajar as he walked into the room. He expected to see Karkat lying in the bed but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw that it was mysteriously empty. “Karkat?” He walked around the bed, checking to see if his friend maybe rolled off onto the floor but there was no sign of his shouty moirail. Gamzee could feel his blood pusher speed up against his ribs. Okay just gotta remain calm. He wouldn’t have been able to get very far in his condition. He had to be around somewhere. It’s not like he could fall out of the windows, since they were latticed squares. And Gamzee or Kurloz would’ve seen or heard if he had come down stairs. But the doors to the balconies outside, were they locked? Gamzee quickened his pace; he had to find Karkat before something happened to him. 

***

Karkat tried to back away from the lusus looming over him. He turned and tried to run, making his way through the dark shapes of trees. He was too hot in the full strength of the Alternian sun. He couldn’t remember what he was doing awake in the forest at this time of day; maybe hunting for food. But he normally preferred to hunt at night, as any troll with a shred of common sense and sanity would do. His head was spinning and the world tilted at crazy angles. He pushed off of trees and kept stumbling forwards, his own breath rasping in his ears. He glanced behind him; the monster was catching up! Long spindly claws reached out, grasping for him. His blood pusher pounded with fear and adrenaline as he tried to make his legs go faster. His foot caught on something, a tree root probably, and he tumbled hard to the ground and rolled smack into a tree trunk with a cry of pain. He tried to scramble up but he must have been heat sick because his stomach churned and he couldn’t help crumpling over and vomiting thick red slime onto the ground. Slime? Why was he puking slime?! Karkat coughed and retched again, terror washing over him as his insides spasmed painfully. He was helpless, the monster was going to get him. Something grabbed onto him and he released the best defensive growl he could manage between heaves, hissing at the threat and weakly trying to scratch his way out of its grasp. 

Gamzee heard a yell and then puking sounds coming from down the hallway. He ran back out of the room and down the hall, straight towards the noise. He found Karkat on the floor outside an unused guest room, leaned against a wall and puking up red slush onto the light grey carpet. 

“Aww, damn” Gamzee knelt down and grabbed Karkat, helping support his friend, holding him up as he heaved and spat. “Hang on, I got you baby, poor motherfucker” Gamzee was astonished to receive a threatening growl and hiss for his efforts, along with streams of half slurred obscenities.

“Not this time you ass-shitting hellspawn!” Karkat thrashed weakly, trying to get away. “Frothbulging crotchblister! Buttmunching asswipe!”   
Karkat struggled and fought in his grasp but Gamzee stubbornly held onto him, ignoring the scratch marks he sustained from Karkat’s claws. “It’s okay, it’s just me, bro. Shoooosh, calm down, I ain’t gonna hurt ya, shhhh, it’s okay babe” 

Karkat threw up again, red slime dribbling from his mouth. “I-I’m gonna die” he spluttered out, abruptly switching tactics and clinging onto Gamzee instead, hooking his claws into the other troll’s hoodie, his eyes wide and frightened. “Fucking huge lusus after me” He was shaking and sweaty, clearly feverish. “It’s a monster. All deformed…it’s a monster” his voice sounded strangled and horrified. 

Gamzee stroked sweaty hair away from Karkat’s face, “There ain’t no lusus sweetheart. There’s nothing up in here. You’re in your motherfuckin’ hive. Just you an’ me” he soothed. “I’m gonna get you outta the hallway though, and back into bed. Soon as…”

Karkat leaned over, belching up more virus slime. The carpet was done for. “Soon as that stops happening” Gamzee finished and sat with him, rubbing his back, muttering reassuring words until it was over. When he was mostly certain Karkat had finished, he scooped him up into his arms and carried him back to the bedroom, being careful not to jostle his sore belly. He laid Karkat gently on the bed and made him as comfortable as possible, not bothering to cover him up since he looked like he was overheating and would probably kick all the covers off anyway.

Karkat whimpered and instantly curled onto his side, his arms wrapped around his stomach as he drew his knees up to his chest, forming a ball of pain. 

Gamzee stroked Karkat’s head, his voice gentle as his fingers carded through silken black fluff. “I’m just gonna grab the thermometer and some more ice water, kay? Stay right here. You’ll be safe here” he stressed to his friend, hoping the words were getting through. 

Gamzee hurried and got the things he mentioned out of the ablutionblock and returned to the bedroom, wiping Karkat clean of spew and drool and sweat. He then started wiping him down with another cloth dipped in ice water, letting the moisture stay on his skin so the fan would cool him further. Gamzee sat on the edge of the bed and held up the thermometer. He petted Karkat’s hair away from one pointed ear “Okay, let’s take your temp again. Seems like it’s gone up since the last time we checked” Gamzee warned, prepping Karkat for what was to come.

Karkat however, didn’t seem to be listening. He opened his eyes and looked around the room, his gaze focused elsewhere. “No, don’t let it eat me! Don’t let it eat me” he muttered, shivering. “It’s around here somewhere. Stalking us. It’s hiding. But I’m not ready, I’m not ready yet. I’m not ready” 

“Shoooosh” Gamzee papped Karkat’s cheek, “No one’s gonna eat ya. Not on my watch. Now, let’s get that temperature all up and taken” He tried to put the thermometer in Karkat’s ear. 

Karkat flipped out the moment something touched his ear. He flailed a hand and shook his head, trying to bat away whatever it was. The first thing that jumped to his fevered mind was an image of a giant flying insect. “Shitfuck! Shit! A bug’s trying to crawl in my ear!” He rolled over and clutched at Gamzee, trying to hide from the perceived insect while covering his ears, one pressed against Gamzee’s shirt, the other with one palm firmly clamped over it. “Kill it, kill it, kill the damn thing!” Karkat was huffing and trembling as he clung to his friend, pupils blown wide. His ashen face was flushed an unhealthy red and Gamzee could feel the heat coming off his cheek as he lay against his leg. Karkat’s gaze darted around the room, seeing things no one else could and he started to mutter. “Zee..Gam…Zee…go and get..get Gamz…Gamzee” he panted out, closing his eyes as he clung onto his moirail for dear life. He looked helpless and sick and Gamzee’s blood pusher ached for him. He wished there was more he could do for him, but he didn’t know what. He felt useless. 

Gamzee tossed the thermometer over his shoulder, completely giving up on that idea. There was no way it was going to work unless he held Karkat down and tried to force him to stay still, and he wasn’t up for that. His moirail was already under enough stress. He petted Karkat’s back and hair and tried to calm him down, pulling him into a hug and kissing one of his cute little horns. He could even feel the heat radiating through that. “Shhh, shoooosh, I’m right here, best friend, right mother fucking here. I ain’t gonna let nothing bad happen to ya” Karkat was so pitiable, so weak right now. He needed all the help he could get. 

“It’s too hot. The sun is-s-s…too hot! You’ll go blind. Blind, Terezi. She’s blind” Karkat muttered hysterically. “Where are we? Can we go back? I wanna…wanna go back. My hive. I can’t remember…where is it?” he trailed off, confused. “Are we lost out here? It’s all my fault. All my fault” there was a pause, while he panted and shivered. And then his expression changed and he looked distressed, as though realising something horrible. “I gave it cancer” he rasped out, “Oh god, I…it’s all my fault” Karkat started to sob loudly, burying his face in Gamzee’s hoodie. “Everyone’s dead, they’re all dead!” 

“No one is dead, babe, everything’s going to be being alright” Gamzee replied, unsure what to say that could answer the barrage of questions. “It’s a whole new planet now, fresh outta the pack. No one is dead anymore. Everything is just fine. Cept the carpet. You gave that one sicknasty dye job” he chuckled, but quickly quieted down when Karkat began to whimper. “Shoooosh. Shooosh, calm that noise, it’s all okay, shhhh”

Gamzee caught a flicker of a shadow out the corner of his eye and looked up to see Kurloz hovering silently in the doorway, holding a glass of water. His eyes shined in the dark, like a cat’s reflective lenses. “I see the delirium has him firmly in its claws. Here. Get him to drink this, against the flesh heat” His silky smooth voice echoed eerily through Gamzee’s thinkpan as he walked over to them and held out the glass in one skeletal gloved hand. 

Gamzee stopped petting Karkat and took the glass with gratitude. He hadn’t wanted to leave Karkat in case he wandered off again or got hurt but he knew he needed to get more fluids into him. “Thanks bro. That might help” If he could get it into Karkat, that is. He shifted Karkat a little, so he was sitting up more, and gently tilted his head forwards. He brought the glass to his mouth. “Come on now sweetheart, got you some nice cold water. Drink this here down, and it’ll help you feel better” he prompted, tipping the glass so a little of the liquid spilled into Karkat’s mouth. 

Karkat nearly choked on the water for a moment, he spluttered and coughed but then swallowed it down. He took a breath and kept drinking as more was poured into his mouth, pausing occasionally to catch his breath before taking more sips. It felt nice, and was cold and refreshing. With Gamzee’s help, he managed to drink all of it. 

Gamzee held the glass out to Kurloz to take. He moved himself and Karkat so they were lying down on their sides, on Karkat’s towel draped pillow. He started up a rumbling purr and resumed rubbing soothing patterns into Karkat’s back and tummy, or petting his hair away from his sweaty forehead, mumbling words of comfort and reassurance, kissing his forehead occasionally. Putting all the pale feelings he held for the troll before him into every word and action. 

Blurred snatches of words filtered through to Karkat’s clouded pan. Soothing, cool hands were brushing his face, nicely massaging his back and achy stomach. Even in his fevered state, his body reacted to the efforts of his friend. Comforted, the smaller troll eventually drifted off into sleep. It was restless, nightmare filled sleep but it was sleep nonetheless.   
Gamzee, curled around Karkat protectively, also fell asleep shortly after Kurloz left the room. He awoke sometime later, to Karkat asking a question. 

“Why is the sleeping platform wet? Did someone spill something?” Karkat mumbled, half asleep and confused as he rolled over and sat up, swaying dizzily. “Wet!” 

Gamzee sat up quickly, grabbing hold of Karkat as he started to fall sideways. He looked down at the dampness he could feel soaking through his pant leg and saw the red tinted liquid spreading over the mattress and the dark wet patches on Karkat’s boxers. “Uh, I think maybe you had a little accident bro…” Gamzee supplied. “But it’s cool. They’re still making washing powder. Don’t gotta fret none” 

Karkat turned and clung on to Gamzee in response, leaning his head on the taller troll’s shoulder. He was panting, shaking and sweating, and seemed dizzy and uncoordinated. He didn’t respond to Gamzee’s mention of having an accident, only groaned sickly, a pathetic sound that was pained and exhausted. 

Gamzee pulled him close, rubbing his back soothingly. “Shh, it’s gonna be okay. I got ya. Just let me take care of every motherfucking thing.” He was trying not to panic but he was really worried. Karkat’s temperature seemed to have gotten even higher and he was becoming weaker. He was going to have to take him to get some proper medical attention, much as Karkat would hate it. He just couldn’t provide what his friend needed in order to get better. 

Carefully he stripped Karkat’s wet clothes off, since the pee had also soaked into the back of his tshirt. He chucked the wet clothes into the growing pile of laundry and got a wet cloth and wiped Karkat down with it. Gamzee grabbed more clothes from the drawers and dressed Karkat again before picking him up and carrying him downstairs. Karkat put up no kind of struggle and was very quiet throughout the whole thing, which was always a bad sign. 

Kurloz appeared in the living room as Gamzee was carrying Karkat towards the front door. Gamzee flinched and gasped. “Honk!” 

Kurloz’ dark laughter reverberated inside Gamzee’s mind. “Apologies, my intentions were not to scare you” He held up a set of keys. “Ready to depart? I will escort you to the hospital” 

“What are you still doing here?” Gamzee asked, surprised, wondering how long he’d been waiting while he and Karkat were asleep. “And how did you have your know on that that’s where we’re going?” Gamzee stammered. 

“I knew the minute I saw the redblood’s condition. It was inevitable” Kurloz replied unfazed. “As if I would leave when there’s such a delectable array of dark emotions to feed on. Your worry and fear added quite nicely to the racket” 

Gamzee tried not to look affected by the mime’s creepy smile. He instead nodded and followed the older troll out to his car. Kurloz opened the passenger side and Gamzee climbed in with Karkat in his arms. He petted sweaty hair back out of Karkat’s face, as Kurloz hopped in the driver’s side and turned up the car’s air conditioning to a colder setting. 

***

Gamzee walked into the hospital still carrying Karkat, who was only half conscious. The purple blood’s clothes were now covered in red slime vomit, although he didn’t seem to notice as he carried Karkat up to the reception desk to check him in. Kurloz’ car was also a mess. The elder troll was outside trying to clean it up. 

Karkat was seen immediately and admitted, the doctor saying it was one of the worst cases they’d seen so far. Gamzee refused to leave his side, even as the nurses were treating him. Karkat was put into a diaper after Gamzee explained the wetting incident. He was also given a fluid replacement drip, a mild anti emetic, a painkiller, fever reducer and an oxygen mask just to get his levels back up. Throughout all of it Karkat was semiconscious and too weak to struggle or protest, which alarmed Gamzee and made him wonder guiltily if he should have brought him to the hospital sooner. 

But at least he was in the best place now. Knowing his moirail would probably (definitely), flip out when he regained consciousness, Gamzee stayed by his side until Karkat fell asleep. One of the nurses brought him some spare scrubs to wear (purple, appropriately enough), and he changed out of his messy clothes right there in the ward, not caring who saw him getting dressed and making a few of the nurses giggle. 

He sat back in the chair next to the bed and held Karkat’s hand. He stayed there for about an hour and a half before he heard voices and another patient being admitted to the ward. He thought the voices sounded familiar, so after a while, he got up and went to the curtain that partitioned the beds. He slid the curtain across and saw two brown blood trolls that he immediately recognised. The smaller one in the bed was only half awake and waving at something invisible and the older one was gently grabbing his hand and talking to him in warm yet concerned tones. “Come on now Tav, you need to rest. Say goodbye to the fairies and go to sleep, okay?” 

“Rufioh? Tavros?” Gamzee stepped forwards and immediately went to Tavros’ side. “How is my best bro doing?” he asked, grabbing Tavros’ hand. He saw Tavros also had an IV and that despite being awake, he was looking pretty out of it. 

Rufioh sighed, and chuckled darkly under his breath “Hallucinating, mostly. And throwing up all over the place. Had to bring him in, cause we couldn’t get fluids into him and his fever spiked again” He petted Tavros’ head. “Poor thing. We tried our best though didn’t we kiddo?”

Tavros hugged Gamzee’s arm and giggled softly. “Honk!” 

Gamzee laughed “Honk!” he grinned. He ruffled Tavros’ mohawk affectionately. God, he was always so adorable. 

“Yeah, same sort of deal with Karbro over there” Gamzee nodded towards the still sleeping Karkat, who was tossing and turning slightly as he dozed. He sighed regretfully. “Didn’t want to drag him in here but there was no other choice and I was getting my panic on. Kinda hoping I can ask for his forgiveness once his thinkpan’s back in order and things settle down”. 

Rufioh smiled, “Don’t worry yo. I’m sure he’ll be just fine, since you’re here with him. We got two sick patients but hey, at least they won’t be left alone, they got us right?” His smile faltered when there was a gurgling splash. Gamzee and Rufioh both looked down to see Tavros bring up some more slime all over Gamzee’s arm that he was still hugging like some kind of stuffed toy. 

Rufioh laughed. “Ah, sorry about that!”

Gamzee started to laugh too “Nah. Don’t worry, I’m used to it”


End file.
